A prospective study of the relationship between prediagnostic Human Papillomavirus seropositivity and HPV DNA in subsequent cervical carcinomas
2002

HPV and Cervical Cancer Risk

Sample size: 127 publication Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Sigstad E, Lie A K, Luostarinen T, Dillner J, Jellum E, Lehtinen M, Thoresen S, Abeler V

Primary Institution: The Norwegian Radium Hospital

Hypothesis

Is prediagnostic Human Papillomavirus seropositivity related to the presence of HPV DNA in subsequent cervical carcinomas?

Conclusion

Prediagnostic HPV seropositivity increases the risk of developing cervical carcinoma only if the carcinoma contains the same type of HPV DNA.

Supporting Evidence

  • HPV16-seropositive women had a 4.4-fold increased risk of developing cervical carcinoma with HPV16 DNA.
  • There was no excess risk for HPV16-seropositive women to develop carcinoma without HPV16 DNA.
  • Prediagnostic HPV16 seropositivity was strongly correlated with later HPV16 DNA positivity in tumors.

Takeaway

Women who had HPV antibodies before getting cervical cancer were more likely to have cancer that also had HPV DNA in it.

Methodology

The study linked serum samples from women to cancer registries and analyzed HPV seropositivity and DNA presence in cervical tumors.

Potential Biases

Potential for misclassification of HPV status due to long storage times of serum samples.

Limitations

Some cases were excluded due to unconfirmed diagnoses or inability to retrieve tumor specimens.

Participant Demographics

Women from Norway, Finland, and Sweden, with a focus on those diagnosed with cervical carcinoma.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p<0.001

Confidence Interval

95% CI: 2.2–8.8

Statistical Significance

p<0.001

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1038/sj.bjc.6600454

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